


Penny for your thoughts, dollar for your insights (Or a fortune for your disaster)

by ashleygail



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe- High School, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Alternate Universe- Royalty, Loosely Princess Protection Program AU, M/M, Not a slowburn let's be real
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24247276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashleygail/pseuds/ashleygail
Summary: “The story we’ve come up with is that you are the son of my deceased sister, come to live with my family.”  Mr Uris said. “All these documents are everything you will need to be a legal citizen and navigate your life here in America. You’ve been enrolled in public high school, though I will warn you that their curriculum is likely behind that of your personal studies in Chamberlain. My son, Stanley is of an age with you and will be showing you around the school and the town and helping you feel at home.”Richie flipped through the papers again, still not completely absorbing what they said. “Can you…” Richie started, then cleared his throat. “Do you know why I had to come here?”[Or: Richie is suddenly forced from his home, his kingdom and his birthright, and sent to live in a shithole town in Maine, he doesn't think he'd could ever be happy here. He's quick to learn that there's more in Derry than he'd ever expected.]
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Stanley Uris & Eddie Kaspbrak, Stanley Uris/Patricia Blum
Comments: 5
Kudos: 103





	Penny for your thoughts, dollar for your insights (Or a fortune for your disaster)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eddiefuckinkaspbrak](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eddiefuckinkaspbrak/gifts).



Richie Tozier was pretty sure he was barely even conscious when he was being dragged out the bed. It wasn’t  _ his  _ bed, because his bed was much higher off the ground with nearly a hundred more pillows than whatever this poor excuse of a mat had. He was pretty sure this blanket was wool, and if his head wasn’t pounding something fierce, he would be raising major complaints. 

“Prince Richard must go.” Charles, who had been Richie’s footman for his whole life and sometimes had more to do with Richie’s up bringing than Richie’s own royal parents, hissed in his ear as Richie clutched at his head. “We need to get away.”

“Away? Away from what?” Richie grumbled. It was mostly dark in the room but as they moved, little flashes of light showed through the long, dark curtains that informed Richie and the sharp ache behind his eyes everytime the light touched them, that it was very much daylight outside. “Can’t it wait? My head is fucking killing me.”

His parents had always begged him to control his cursing, and in their ideal world, he simply wouldn’t curse at all. It wasn’t becoming of a monarch, and if Richie wanted his people to love him, then he couldn’t go around cursing like a common sailor. Not that it mattered much, as Richie had ruined any chances of ever being loved by his parents’ people when he came forward and declared how much he loved dick. 

“I’m afraid it simply cannot wait, Prince Richard, I’m sorry.” Charles said desperately, nearly holding up Richie’s half asleep form. “There has been discourse in the kingdoms, and it seems it’s no longer safe for you here, Your Grace. It is imperative that you be removed tonight.” 

“Moved where?” Richie asked, suddenly feeling  _ much  _ more coherent. He and Charles stumbled out onto the roof of one of the taller towers of his castle home, and the sunlight burned so painfully that Richie was forced to squeeze his eyes shut. “For how long, when am I coming back?”

There was a silence from Richie’s footman that was only interrupted by the chopping noise that could only be a helicopter landing nearby.

“I’m sorry, Prince Richard.” Charles had to shout over the sounds of the helicopter as Charles continued to guide Richie over to it. “At this time, it’s a matter of your safety and your life. You will not be returning to Chamberlain.” 

Richie was dazed as Charles pushed him into the helicopter and somebody- Richie couldn’t even be bothered to figure out who- buckled him up. And even as it burned his eyes and made his actual brain throb, Richie watched the Kingdom of Chamberlain disappear from view. 

He couldn’t have told anybody how long the ride lasted after Richie couldn’t see his home anymore. Could have been hours, could have been days. Richie felt numb right down to his core, but eventually the helicopter landed on a large landing strip and Richie was being ushered back out. People certainly were being grabby with him today. And his head still fucking hurt.

A man in a formal grey suit was waiting on the tarmac and gave Richie a slight bow as he approached. “Prince Richard, it’s an honour to meet you.”

Richie forced a smile. “There is no need to bow, sir. I know little of what is going on, but it certainly I am no longer any prince. Just Richie is fine.”

The man straightened up and gave Richie a wiry smile. “My name is Donald Uris, and I’m part of a very private branch of the United Nations which works lands such as your kingdom, to provide safety and protection for those of royal blood such as yourself in situations like this. I will do my best to give you an easy transition into your new life.”

Richie nodded and followed Mr Uris back to a small, grey van parked the end of the turmac strip. Richie crawled into the backseat and buckled himself up. Immediately, Mr Uris was pulling out pieces of paper and handed them to Richie. Most of them didn’t make any sense to him at all, with numbers and dates and signatures but something did catch his eye near the bottom of the pile. 

**CERTIFICATE OF VITAL RECORD.** **  
** **STATE OF MAINE.**

TOZIER, RICHARD IRA.   
MARCH 07, 2003   
M   
LITTLE CANADA, MN

Richie frowned. It was his name,  _ sort of.  _ His first name, certainly, but not last name nor his even middle name. Not his actual date of birth, but the correct year. He didn’t even know what a Little Canada or a Maine was, except that he assumed it was somewhere in America. Just like he was now. 

“The story we’ve come up with is that you are the son of my deceased sister, come to live with my family.” Mr Uris said. “All these documents are everything you will need to be a legal citizen and navigate your life here in America. You’ve been enrolled in public high school, though I will warn you that their curriculum is likely behind that of your personal studies in Chamberlain. My son, Stanley is of an age with you and will be showing you around the school and the town and helping you feel at home.”

Richie flipped through the papers again, still not completely absorbing what they said. “Can you…” Richie started, then cleared his throat. “Do you know why I had to come here?” 

Mr Uris was quiet for a moment before he started up the van and began to pull away from the drop off. The helicopter was already long gone. “I don’t have all the information, Richard, I’m afraid. All I’m aware of is that an attempt had been made on your life, a very close attempt, and it was the belief of your parents and counsel that the best course of action would be to allow those who harm you to believe that they succeeded, and to get you somewhere safe.”

“They told everybody I was dead.” Richie said slowly. Another awkward silence settled in the space between him and Mr Uris.

“It’s not a cut and dry as that, Richie.” 

But Richie was pretty sure that it was. 

  
  


The Uris’ house was nice. Certainly no castle, but bigger than any of the houses in the village’s under Richie’s reign. Two stories, possibly with an attic. Large windows and front porch with a swing. A front yard with flawless green grass and white mailbox. A wooden fence separated the property to the neighbours nearly identical houses, and there was a large two car garage. Suburban bliss, Richie thought to himself, though he’d never really experienced suburban- or even urban- other than the occasional at times he’d sat down and watched American television.He’d never considered when watching to take notes, that it would end up being his life. 

It was only when Mr Uris guided him up the stairs, that Richie realized that he didn’t have any belongings. He was wearing a pair of pajama pants and a white t-shirt that he’d awoken in, possibly days ago, and he suddenly felt disgusted. “Mr Uris, I’m sorry to interrupt but I think I really could use a shower. And I don’t have any change of clothes or anything-”

“Oh yes, of course!” Mr Uris’ eyes widened as though surprised he hadn’t thought of that himself. “The bathroom you and Stanley will be sharing is just down the hall. I will tell you that my son is rather particular, so I ask that you did not touch any of his belongings. We placed shampoo, conditioner and soap in there for you already, and we will take you shopping for anything else you might need or if you don’t like shampoo brands we’ve gotten for you. The Aveeno products are all Stan’s, so please don’t touch them. And the same goes with blue towels and face clothes in the top cupboard, yours are in the bottoms cupboard. Your bedroom is on the left joining side, and there are some clothes in there for you. Nothing fancy or extravagant, but I think it will be adequate for you.” 

Richie blinked, information being thrown at him with no qualms. 

“This is it here.” Mr Uris opened the bathroom door and Richie was happy to see that it wasn’t much different than that back home. Smaller, but just as efficient. “Take your time, but we do have mandatory dinner at 5:30. You’re free to leave again after the meal, curfew is 11pm.”

Richie laughed. “Thank you, Mr Uris, but I don’t think I need to worry about curfew anytime soon.”

Mr Uris smiled back at him. “You might be surprised. My son has a nice little group of friends and I’m sure they’d be happy to have you along, Richie. Life here might not be as glamorous as royal life, but it’s not too horrible.”

Mr Uris left him alone to his thoughts after that, as Richie turned the water on as hot as it would go and stood under the burning stream. He still wasn’t sure he had  _ un-numbed  _ yet. Richie had never had friends before, not really. There were people around the palace, always, that Richie sometimes chummed around with but the only person Richie had ever really been close to was his sister.

The choking feeling of incoming tears hit Richie hard. God, Reed. He’d probably never see his sister again. She might not even know he was alive, but she was going to be being groomed for rule now. Thrusted into the position after the sudden loss of her only sibling, and her life would never be the same. Reed was sweet, pure, and Richie feared the pressure of rule could crush her. 

Richie didn’t mean to cry, but when he came out with dripping hair and red skin, his eyes were no doubt puffy and red as well. He wrapped himself up in the beige towels from the bottom cupboard and pushed open the joining door to the bedroom.

Only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight of two boys in the room. A thin boy with wiry blonde curls and a distinct nose and jaw line that made it obvious he was Mr Uris’ son, Stanley, was seated at the desk in a pastel blue button up and khaki pants. Lounging across the bed, in white T-shirt and red runners shorts, was a boy with day messy brown hair and wide brown eyes. 

“Oh, uh- shit.” Richie said, suddenly aware of his obvious nakedness besides the towel around his waist. He was glad his skin was already flushed from hot water, otherwise his blush would be horribly obvious. ”I’m sorry. I thought your dad said my room connected to the bathroom.”

“It does.” Stan said simply, turning back to the door he had previously been reading. “It joins on the other side, the left. I’m sure my father told you. Do you  _ know  _ what left is?”

Richie's mouth dropped and blinked hard at him. “I-  _ yes  _ I know what left is! I got a lot of information in a short period of time. I forgot.”

Stan stared him down for a month before he smirked. “It’s fine. You’re not in a blue towel, so you’re forgiven.”

“Is this your cousin?” Stan’s friend spoke up suddenly, and Richie was aware of how the other boys’ gaze was trailing down his torso. “Richie, right? I’m Eddie.”

Eddie held his hand out but Richie stared down at it awkwardly, his own hands still holding tightly to the towel around his waist. “Yeah, I’d love to shake your hand but I think I’ll do it a little less naked if that’s cool.”

Eddie laughed and that sound made Richie’s stomach jump. ”That seems pretty fair. Your room is on the  _ other side  _ of the bathroom. The bed is really comfortable by the way, I crashed there enough times to know.”

“Don’t mind Eddie,” Stan called over to them, his eyebrows pinched together like he found something deeply amusing. “He’s in the middle of a reborn and he’ll hit on anything that moves.”

“Well, it’s pretty convenient that I am able to move then, isn’t it?” Richie waggled his brow, tried to ignore the fact that he was naked and relished in the way Eddie’s freckled cheeks pinkened slightly. Richie made his way back into the bathroom and let himself into the room on the other side, the room that belonged to him. 

It wasn’t too different from Stanley’s, a double bed with a comforter set. A desk pushed into the corner and a large window with flannel curtains. But there weren't any pictures or posters on the walls, or awards or trophies littering shelves. It looked like exactly what Eddie had described it as, a guest room. 

Richie sighed and moved towards the double door closet and opened it to a selection of jeans, khakis, button up shirts and white t-shirts. Richie had never chosen his own clothes before, never really considered the option, and this didn’t feel much different. Instead of an assortment of suits, it was just a different type of wardrobe.

He threw on a pair of jeans, cringing when they came up a couple inches short of his ankles. He grabbed a white t-shirt and one of the button ups- pink and white striped- and left it unbuttoned. He shook out his hair that way he always did when he wasn’t forced to style it for some sort of event, and he knew it was how his curls looked the best once they dried. He grabbed a pair of plain white socks from the basket in the bottom of the closet and tugged them. He hung the wet towel on the back of the door and returned back to Stanley’s room.

Eddie chuckled at him the moment Richie entered back into the room, eyes glued to the too short pants. “Your pants don’t fit.”

“Yeah, my dick is so big it’s forcing the fabric up.” Richie shot off. 

Stan rolled his eyes in Richie’s peripheral vision but Eddie didn’t seem fazed. “Well you look like an idiot with them like that, let me help you.

Eddie dropped down to his knees in front of Richie, and Richie felt his face burn a bright red. Eddie rolled up the cuffs of his pants just slightly, enough that they looked short on purpose, and popped back up with a grin on his face. “There! Now you don’t look so much like an idiot.”

“Thanks, Eds. You’re really saving my ass.”

“Are you two done?” Stan asked, marking his place in the book and pushing away from his desk. “Because it’s 5:30 so we have to get to dinner.”

Eddie's eyes light up. “Mr Uris makes the best spinach pasta, you’re in for a treat.” He took off out the bedroom and downstairs towards the kitchen Richie had walked through when he’d gotten there. Richie moved to follow but Stan caught his arm before he could get anyway.

“Nobody in town knows who you really are except my parents and myself.” Stan told him seriously. “I don’t like lying to my friends, but I know it’s a matter of your safety so I won’t complain. I just ask you please try not to slip up. I don’t want my friends to think I’m a liar, and it’ll put your life in danger.”

“Your friends are the people who are trying to get me off’ed?” Richie challenged, simply for a lack of any other response. 

“The more people who know who you are, the more possibility of your identity getting out.” Stan said dryly. “You should take this seriously. It’s literally a matter of your life or death.” 

  
  


Richie learned within the week that it was actually rare for Stan to have his friends over to the house. Stan was always jetting out, returning home for his 5:30 dinners then taking off again until curfew. Mr Uris assured Richie that Stan was usually around the house more often that that, but it was the last week of summer vacation and he was trying to suck up the last bit of freedom he had left before going back to school. Richie wasn’t too upset that Stan wasn’t around much, Richie was still getting used to the entire situation. 

Richie’s first day in town, Mr Uris had handed him a cell phone and showed him all the sorts of apps. Richie hadn’t bothered to set up any sort of social media, but once Mr Uris showed him a music app called Spotify, Richie had been  _ hooked.  _ It was like having every bit of music ever released at his fingertips in a way that Richie had never experienced before, and it blew his mind that everybody had this sort of access here. He spent days just exploring the apps playlists, learning new artists and devoting hours to their entire discographies if he could. 

Richie had been so immersed in his music library that he hadn’t even noticed the door to his bedroom opening. Richie relished in the privilege to hide in his bedroom, something he was so rarely allowed to do back in Chamberlain. 

Eddie had let himself into Richie’s room and was grinning at him. Riche yanked that headphones out of his ears and sat up in the bed. Ever since Eddie had rolled up the cuffs of Richie’s jeans his first day in town, Richie had been trying to continue doing it with the too short selection pants in his closet. He never managed to make it look as good Eddie had. The cuffs usually didn’t reach the same length, one thicker than the other, but Richie didn’t mind too much. 

“Stanley isn’t here.” Richie said, resting up against the headboard of his bed. “I actually sort of thought that he was out with you.”

“We have other friends,” Eddie said dismissively. “I’m here to see you. Well, to steal you.”

Richie raised his eyebrows, legs starting to jitter under him. He stood up and moved over towards Eddie. “What like, kidnap me?”

Eddie smiled. “School starts tomorrow, you can’t go in with all these too small clothes. Come on.”

Richie frowned but let Eddie lead him out of his bedroom and down to where Mr and Mrs Uris were sitting at the small kitchen table with steaming mugs in front of them. They glanced up and only Mrs Uris seemed mildly surprised to see Eddie there.

“Edward, we’ve told you that you don’t need to sneak in.” Mr Uris said, voice dripping with amusement. 

“Sorry, sir, force of habit.” Eddie chuckled. “Richie needs new clothes.” 

Mr Uris blinked and glanced at Richie, two short jeans and button up shirt and chuckled. “I suppose you’re right, Edward.” He stood and pulled his wallet out from the back pocket of his pants, pulling out a slick bank card. “Go ahead and get whatever you need to within reason, but from here on out, if you want spending money you’ll need to do chores like Stanley does.”

Richie blinked. He’d never done any sort of housework before, but he didn’t think he should point that out. He still wasn’t sure what was considered normal, and what wasn’t, and he was pretty sure that not owning any clothes that fit him fell under the “not normal” category. The last thing he needed was to make Eddie suspicious of him, when it had been made very apparent that Richie should be doing everything in his power not to be drawing unwanted attention to himself.

So he let Eddie guide him to the closest bus stop, and pretended to his best ability that he’d taken a bus before at any point in his life. The mall didn’t seem to be anything overly impressive, a long straight hallway with stores. Mostly clothing stores, but there were two or three cell phones shops as well as a bookstore. There was a single As Seen On TV! Store that caught Richie’s eye, but Eddie quickly shoved him into the first clothing store. 

“Okay, you need jeans. What size are you?” Eddie guided Richie over the long table with pair and pair of denim pants laid out across it, in different shades of blue and some black. Some were already ripped through the knees and thighs and Richie frowned at them, reaching out and putting his fingers through the rips in the fabric. 

“Richie?” Eddie prompted again, startling Richie out of his wonder. 

“Oh, uh…” Richie frowned. “Tall?”

Eddie crinkled up his nose and shook his head, before looking Richie up and down slightly. “How does somebody not know what size pants they are? Here.” Eddie started scooping up different pairs of pants in the same style, and tossed them into Richie’s arms. “We’ll get a dressing room, try them all on and you’ll figure out pretty quickly what fits and what doesn’t. We can go from there.”

Richie felt beyond embarrassed to have to ask the workers for a change room, and even more embarrassed to be changing down into his underwear with Eddie standing just outside. Whenever Richie had gone for a fitting before, it had always been himself and his stylist aside from any occasional time his mother would show up to pass her own judgement on whatever they were trying to put Richie into. 

He eventually did figure out however, that his pant size was and Eddie quickly started tossing him as many pairs of pants as was allowed in the changing room at a time. He liked the pants that were tighter in the legs and ankles, and while he didn’t really understand why somebody would buy jeans that were already ripped, he couldn’t deny there was something he enjoyed about it when he looked at himself wearing them in the dressing room mirror. He got two pairs of the blue ripped jeans, and another two pairs of the regular jeans, one in a dark blue and one in black. 

Eddie nodded with a satisfied smile. “Sweaters and shit are all on back to school sales, so this really is the best time to shop for anything.”

Richie reached his hand out and touched one of the sweaters on the hooks. It was soft, and checkered black and white. He noticed Eddie wrinkled his nose as Richie gave it attention. “It’s not good?” He asked. He wasn’t sure why stores would sell clothes that weren’t nice, and something about the pattern called to Richie, but he wouldn’t want to wear anything that would make him look wrong. 

“I wouldn’t wear anything like that.” Eddie said. “But it doesn’t matter what I like, it’s what you like. Get it if you want it.”

Richie turned back to the sweatshirt and smiled slightly. He’d never had this sort of freedom with clothing before, and he pulled the sweatshirt from the rack before proceeding to grab the clothes with the brightest and wildest colours and patterns he could find. He watched Eddie get more and more amused as they moved through the store. 

As the cashier rang them through, Eddie turned to Richie. “Do you need anything else for school?”

Richie frowned. “What would I need?”

“Uh-” Eddie faltered and Richie realized he’d asked a “not normal” question. “Like… pens and paper? Binders?”

“Oh!” Richie said, trying not to flush as he put Mr Uris’ card into the machine and put in the four number code he’d given him on his way out the door. “No, no. Mr and Mrs Uris have that stuff coming out of their asses, I’m pretty sure.”

Eddie chuckled. “I don’t think I doubt that. We can just pick up some new shoes for you because you’ve been limping around in those sneakers all day like they’re two sizes too small.”

They were just a pair of black sneakers that Mr Uris had from when he’d gone through a short period of thinking he wanted to go to the gym, and they were certainly hurting Richie’s feet. Eddie led Richie down that long hall again to a store that seemed to sell  _ only  _ shoes, and a pair of thick black boots caught Richie’s eye immediately. 

He tried them on, going a full size higher than the sneakers on his feet, and Eddie made him walk and also buy a pair of sneakers because he assured Richie that they were much more practical than the boots. After they finished, Eddie even helped Richie carry his bags onto the bus and back to the Uris’ house. Richie excitedly unloaded all the new clothes and shoes into his closet, and felt a warm flutter in his chest when he thought of going to school the next morning. 

He was significantly  _ less  _ impressed with the thought of school when he was dragged out of bed by Stanley at 6:30 the next morning. He threw the first things he saw in the closet, one of the ripped blue jeans with a shirt covered in Hawaiian flowers that was so large on him that it reached the middle of his thighs and threatened to slip off his shoulder. He tossed his hair up into a half-hearted bun on top of his head that he knew would be mostly fallen out by the end of his day and graciously accepted the buttered toast and orange juice that Mrs Uris handed both Stan and Richie as they were being ushered out to Mr Uris’ car. 

One of the only other vehicles sitting in the parking lot when they arrived was a big red truck. The paint was chipping on the sides, and a group of teenagers were standing around it and sitting in the bed. Stan gave his father a quick goodbye and took off running towards it, while Richie hesitated in the back seat of Mr Uris’ Sedan. 

Mr Uris’ caught his eye in the rearview mirror. “If you’re not ready yet, you can take another day off at home. I know this must all be a lot.”

It was, but Richie cleared his throat and unbuckled himself. “No, uh… It’s probably easier to be the new kid on the first day right? Instead of coming in when classes have already started?”

Mr Uris’ smiled. “It is, yeah.”

Richie gave his new guardian a thanks as he slid out of the car and walked slowly over the group of teenagers that Stan had rushed over to. 

“Hey, Richie!” 

Richie sighed a breath of relief when Eddie called out to him. While he’d known that Eddie was going to be at school with him- there was only high school in town- it was still nice to see Eddie was already there, meaning one less introduction. 

“Guys, this my cousin Richie.” Stan said, lying with such ease it startled Richie. He smiled as Eddie gestured for him to climb up into the bed of the truck and sit down beside him. “I told you he’d be coming to live with us. Richie, this is Mike, Ben and Beverly-” He pointed to each person in turn. “You already know Eddie, and Bill should be coming but he’s late because that’s who he is as a person.”

Mike gave him a toothy grin. “Bill isn’t always late, I usually pick him up but I learned a long time ago not to bother trying on the first day of the school because it would just mean we’d both miss the first period.” 

Richie laughed. Eddie leaned into Richie’s space, chin resting on Richie’s shoulder. “Mike and Bill are together,” he whispered in Richie’s ear as the conversation around them swirled into what their first periods were. “We all pretend we don’t know, but they’re not subtle at all.” 

The parking lot was quickly filling up with cars and people, and Eddie kept his chin on Richie’s shoulder. “Ben has had a crush on Beverly since like sixth grade when he moved here.” Eddie continued whispering his friends' secrets to Richie as they talked obliviously. “She and Bill dated for like, three years or something, though, it’s just something we don’t talk about. We don’t talk about how Bill and Beverly used to date, either, but it makes Beverly really awkward.”

Richie nodded. “No talking about the love square. Got it.”

Eddie giggled directly in Richie’s ear and it really couldn’t be healthy how his heart jumped, skipping a full beat. 

It actually surprised Richie had quickly he got the hang of his new life. Mr Uris hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said that their education system was behind that of Chamberlain, and Richie quickly rocketed up to the top of their class. September turned into October, and people stopped giving Richie weird looks in the hallways and started asking him for homework help instead. Beverly officially caught Mike and Bill on a date, and the not secret-secret officially became open knowledge amongst Stan’s friends. Stan got a crush on a girl in his and Richie’s AP math class, and Richie teased him about it mercilessly, but Richie was still the first person Stan came to when he asked her out and she said yes. 

As the end of October loomed nearer, Richie quickly realized he rarely spent any time away from Eddie Kaspbrak. They had most of their classes together, and Eddie was over at the Uris’ house almost everyday after school if the group wasn’t all hanging out. Just a couple days before Hallowe’en, Eddie had invited Richie to see some horror flick and paid for the entire thing. He’d gotten scared and spent half the movie with this face hidden behind Richie’s shoulder, and the fluttering in his stomach kept Richie up almost the entire night after he’d gotten home. 

Hallowe’en came around and Stan ordered Richie a costume to match all the rest of their friends. They weren’t doing anything like Hallowe’en on American TV, not trick or treating or going to some sort of intense rave in costumes that were basically half naked. They’d all gotten oversized sweaters with Pokemons on them, each of them a different one, and they were all going to have a sleepover out at Mike Hanlon’s family’s farm. 

Richie had had a few other sleepovers since he’d come to Derry, but this was the first time that Eddie was going to be there all night. Eddie’s mother rarely let him out of the house overnight, and Hallowe’en was one of the occasions that Eddie felt important enough to argue with her over his sleepover rights. Richie was stupidly excited and painfully nervous. 

Richie had never really had a crush on somebody before, certainly not like this. He was only a drink or two into the mix that Mike and Bill had somehow provided and Richie was feeling a buzz under his skin that he did not associate with the glasses of wine he’d be allowed to drink with meals back in Chamberlain, and he couldn’t keep his eyes off Eddie across the campfire in his huge Squirtle sweater. 

Richie couldn’t think of any good reason not to, so he crawled around the fire and settled at Eddie’s side. They pressed together from knee to shoulder and Eddie turned to give Richie a slow smile. He was still nursing his drink of the evening and his eyes were bright and alert. “Hey, Togepi.” He said, grinning down at Richie’s sweater.

“I think it’s kind of bullshit that my sweater is the only one that’s white.” Richie said with a sigh. “I’m probably the  _ most likely  _ to get myself dirty.”

Eddie waggled his brow and licked his bottom lip before pulling his drink back up to his mouth and taking a long sip. “It’s eggshell, not white. You’re a fucking egg.”

Something about Eddie deadpanning the term  _ you’re a fucking egg  _ hit Richie hit in the giggles, head dropping down onto Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie shivered as Richie’s breath blew across his neck and suddenly the rest of the sounds in the barn seemed to fade away around them. 

Richie lifted his head slightly, and Eddie’s hand came out to rest on his cheek. Richie was pretty sure his heart was in his throat as Eddie leaned into him, but he still found himself- “Eddie, wait.” Richie breathed out. He didn’t want to do it like this, he couldn’t. “I… I have to tell you something. I’m not who you think I am.”

Eddie blinked at him, not pulling away or lowering his hand, but pausing his motions forward. Richie inhaled slowly. “I’m not Stanley’s cousin. I’m not… I’m not related to him at all. I’m… okay this is going to sound insane but I’m actually a … prince.”

Eddie’s hand fell from Richie’s face, dropping to rest on top of Richie’s hands in his lap. “Okay, please, I know this sounds absolutely crazy and you can ask Stan if you need to. I mean, he might lie actually, I’m not sure. I was sent here for my own protection, people in my home country were trying to kill me. Maybe for being gay, maybe for something else, but probably for being gay. I’m not supposed to tell anybody who I am, but I didn’t want you to- I didn’t want us if you didn’t really know who I am because that’s not fair to you. Even though you probably think I’m fucking nuts now.”

Eddie sat there a long moment, just looking at Richie’s face. If Richie had thought Eddie had got his heart racing before, it was certainly nothing compared to how raced with panic now. “I  _ should  _ think you’re fucking nuts.” Eddie said slowly. “But I actually believe you.”

“What?” Richie asked, voice coming out more of a gasp than actual words.

Eddie broke into a shy smile. “It actually makes a lot of stuff make more sense. Like how you moved here without so much as a pair of shoes to your name, and you didn’t know who Lady Gaga was.” 

Richie chuckled and Eddie’s thumbs brushed over the backs of Richie’s hands. “Thank you for telling me, honestly. I really like you, Richie… and I wanna like you for who you are. Whoever you are.”

“I really like you, too.” Richie said, feeling himself blush. “I don’t think I’ve ever liked somebody like this before.”

Eddie beamed. “Can we makeout now?” 

“Oh. I don’t… I really don’t know how-” 

Eddie smirked and reached up to tangle his fingers in Richie’s black curls. “Oh, I think I can show you the ropes.” He tugged Richie in to connect their lips, and Richie was a little shocked to realize how quickly instinct took over. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there with Eddie, could have been hours, or just minutes, but he was brought back into the reality of the party around him when a marshmallow hit him in the side of the head. 

“Kaspbrak!” Stan shouted from across the fire. “Get your  _ tongue  _ out of my cousin’s mouth!” 

Eddie joyously flipped Stan the bird before pulling Richie in for another kiss. 

  
  


November flew back in a haze of Eddie and colourful leaves. The snow began to fall and Richie began to learn all about Hanukkah from his new found family, and about Christmas from his boyfriend. The amount of things that took place in such a small period of time at the end of December was a little dizzying for Richie, and he expressed as much to Mrs Uris one day as she was helping him making real hot cocoa for himself and Eddie. 

“Nothing is expected of you, Richie.” Mrs Uris told him gently. “We know that this must be weird for you, the holidays away from your family. I’m sure Eddie knows it, too.”

Richie’s ears burned slightly. It had taken all of three days into his and Eddie’s relationship for Richie to confess to Stan and the Uris’ that he told Eddie the truth about who he was. Stan had been supportive and happy for him, while Mr and Mrs Uris had still been apprehensive about Richie sharing that information. Stan had tried reminding them they’d known Eddie since the other boy wore diapers, but they’d still been concerned that it put Richie’s safety at risk. 

“Richie…” Mr Uris called from the front foyer of the house. “Can you come here, please?”

Richie stepped towards Mr Uris, only to freeze at the sight in front of him. Shedding out of long grey trench coats were Richie’s parents and younger sister, Reed. She gasped at the sight of him, and flung herself into his arms without a care of the snow still hanging off her. Though shocked, Richie didn’t have any hesitation in wrapping his arms around her and giving her a tight squeeze. 

“Rich?” Eddie’s voice sounded from behind him and Richie slowly pulled away from his sister’s embrace. Eddie was standing at the bottom of the stairs, Stan and his girlfriend, Patty, just behind him. Mrs Uris was hovering nearby in the doorway between the kitchen and the front hall.

“These are my parents, and my baby sister.” Richie smiled at them and reached his hand out behind him for Eddie. Eddie shuffled over and grabbed hold of Richie’s awaiting hand. “You guys, this is Eddie. My boyfriend.” 

Eddie smiled bashfully at them, only half hidden behind Richie’s figure. Reed let out a delighted gasp while his parents donned polite smiles. 

“It's lovely to meet you, Eddie.” King Wentworth said, sounding genuine enough. His parents had been loving and understanding when Richie had come out to them, and he knew that most of their wants of Richie to keep things shushed was out of concern for his safety. Rightfully so, it would seem. “Richard, we come with news.”

Richie raised his eyebrows at them, finding himself struggling to slip back into the formal person he knew he should be right then. “Yeah… Uh yes, okay. Let’s sit.”

The merged families sat around the sunny Uris’ living room as Mrs Uris offered everybody their selection of drinks. 

“I’m afraid we cannot stay long,” Queen Margaret said sweetly, patting at Mrs Uris’s extended hand. “The royal family cannot all be absent from their places for long. We have pressing issues to discuss with Richard that must have been said in person.”

Eddie squeezed Richie’s knee, and Richie leaned to the side to press a soft kiss to Eddie’s cheek. There was a burning feeling in his gut that told him this was going to get messy.

“We have found the culprit who was making the attempts on your life.” King Wentworth said, eyes only for his son. Richie felt a chill run down his spine. “It was Lord St George of Little Tall Island. He was unhappy when the bethoral between yourself and his eldest daughter, Lady Selena, and he seemed to believe that it would be better to have you dead then it be revealed that you have rejected his kin.”

Richie only dimly remembered Selena St George. A mousy girl with long braids, they’d met only three or so times, and he felt she’d said an equal amount of words in his presence. 

“We have him contained and he’s awaiting a trial in our dungeons.” King Wentworth continued. Richie heard Eddie whisper the word dungeon in awe at Richie’s side. “We wanted to let you know that, should you choose to return, it is safe for you.”

Richie was sure for a moment that he’d misheard, but the way every eye in the room was trained on him promised that he hadn’t. “Go… Go back to Chamberlain? I thought… didn’t you tell everybody I was dead?”

“Yes, when we believed it unlikely we would ever find the person responsible for the attempts on your life,” Queen Margaret said softly. “We have found him, and there is no reason to carry on the charade that you’ve been lost to us.” 

Richie swallowed audibly. “You said  _ if I choose to,  _ you mean it’s up to me?”

The King and Queen exchanged a look with Mr Uris. “Donald told us much about how you’ve grown the past four months. That you seem… happy. Adjusted here. We would love for you to come home with us, but Donald’s stories prompted us to wonder if that would be what make you happy.”

Richie glanced at his sister, who smirked and pointedly looked in Eddie’s direction. Richie’s boyfriend was sitting stalk still beside him, pale and pressed against his side. Richie thought of their relationship, how they’d only just begun to fall for each other, and he thought of sneaking into Stan’s room at night to talk even though he pretended it annoyed him. Thought of all the clothes in his closet upstairs, every single one picked out by him for him. He thought of Mike, and Beverly and Ben and Bill, the first real friends he’d ever had. He thought of the stories that Mrs Uris and Eddie had told him of Hanukkah and Christmas, and how even though he was nervous about it he wanted to experience the holidays. 

“I.. I think I want to stay.” Richie said slowly, looking at Mr and Mrs Uris. “If that’s okay.” 

“You are more than welcome to stay, Richie.” Mr Uris assured him with a fond smile. 

“You need to be  _ sure  _ that’s what you want.” King Wentworth leaned forward and rested his hands on Richie’s knees. “If you do wish to stay in America, we would continue forward under the premise that you have died. For your safety and your privacy. The privacy of the family who took you in and your friends. We would charge St George with your murder rather than simply an attempt, you would not be able to ever return to Chamberlain.”

Richie’s stomach tensed for a moment before he remembered a simple fact. “I already believed that to be true.” Richie said in his most princely voice. “I had accepted that I would never see you or Chamberlain again months ago, that was what they told me when I came here. I made my own life, and I love it. I love the people in it.” Eddie’s head came down and rested gently against Richie’s shoulder. “And I love you guys, too, so much but I… I don’t want to be a prince, I don’t want to rule or any of that shit. I’m not built for it.  _ This  _ is the life I want, and Reed will be an amazing Queen. Better than I could ever be a King.” 

Reed gave him a tearful smile. “You know it, big brother.”

“That’s your final decision, son?” King Wentworth asked his only son. 

Richie made only a second of eye contact with Stanley, who offered him up a half twitch of a smile. “Yeah.” Richie said happily. “It is.”


End file.
